Last Resort
by melodye123
Summary: What happens when Lia, a muggle, finds Hogwarts? Creating a stir in the already hectic community of Hogwarts Lia needs to figure out her place. She will find out that magic lies dormant inside of her and she may be one the keys to helping defeat Lord Voldemort. But will she choose to accept that? M Rating for later content.
1. Chapter 1

Her name was Lia and this was her last resort.

She had tried so many other places that by now she was prepared to sleep in a jail cell if necessary. Crashing in her aunt's house in the most boring town in the world was not happening for her anymore. Staring at her mother's sister all day made her remember all that had happened to get her there in the first place. The brunette's fingers drummed against the steering wheel as she drove away from Dufftown. Her aunt had given her niece the car that was collecting dust in the garage. Her aunt was a soon to be alcoholic who hated most people she met and had forgotten how to drive. Lia couldn't stand to be around someone so contaminated by negative thoughts…the younger girl was already beginning to ferment in her own toxicity. Now with some of the money her father had left her Lia was on her way to a Bed and Breakfast in Isle of Skye. She had heard about the beautiful sunsets and the smell of the water hitting the sand. While Lia normally hated water but she wouldn't mind having a nice view from her room. . With massive amounts of books in the back of her new-old car she was prepared to spend the next month in Isle of Skye. Lia didn't know what to expect when she arrived but for now she could focus on the road.

**Leaving Dufftown. **Lia watched the sign fade away through her rearview mirror. While she knew she would come back to see her aunt the teenager didn't plan to be back any time soon. Her stay in Dufftown was relatively uneventful. But for once she was okay with that. Two years before her stay there had been a sighting of some freak who escaped from jail. Ironically the criminal had been sighted by Lia's aunt, a budding freak herself. Lia had to hear about the aftermath almost every day she was at her aunt's house because apparently things never were the same around Dufftown. Her aunt slowly became an introvert, rarely leaving her home. Lia asked why and regretted it almost immediately. "Dark, hovering creatures that swept the town with sadness and invisible frost for what felt like months…It was terrible," her aunt recalled with a vacant stare. Lia never asked again.

Lia's eyes watched the signs to make sure she wasn't going to wrong way. Hell, any direction was better than going back to home. She was making her way into the mountainous Highland region of Scotland and she wasn't looking forward to the drive. It was a 3 hour drive and she had started a bit late in the day so she would get to her B&B at around 9 o'clock. Hopefully. Lia was used to driving alone seeing as after her father passed away her mother retreated into herself and she had to drive herself around. Typical mother abandonment story but Lia wasn't angry at her mother. She was sad for the woman she loved and the person she let slip away. Lia was old enough to handle her own by the time her father died but it also would have been nice to be cared for. That was the root of the argument the two had before Lia left. Her mother, without having to say it, wasn't interested in spending so much emotional energy on her daughter. Lia decided to leave because she had given so much over the last few years that by now she was tired. There were bags under her eyes on most days because it felt like she had lost years of sleep. Now she was skipping out on Sixth Form and traveling to a B&B not far from her loony aunt. What was she doing with her life?

Lia felt smart enough to take on the real world and she wasn't the only person in England skipping out for a year or two. But this wasn't who she used to be. And it was scary. Sick of the thoughts running through her head Lia turned on the radio in attempt to drown them out. An Oasis song was playing which must have been sent from above. Oasis could fix anything. Lia tapped her fingers along the steering wheel but was interrupted by static and an unintentional remix of some other song. She was going into the twilight zone of Scotland where towns were still listening to Ace of Base's 1993 album. Suddenly Lia had the options of listening to "All That She Wants" or "I'd Do Anything For Love" from Meatloaf. This was going to be a long ride.

**One Hour Later**

A storm had made its way over to the northern part of Scotland and the roads were barely visible to Lia. She grunted as she pulled over to the side of the road and sat in her car for a few moments. Her eyes stayed glued to the rain wall that had suddenly come up in the last half hour. Someone really didn't want her to make it to this B&B is one piece…or sane. "No. No. Go Lia. Go!" she pushed herself and bought the car to life again. She decided to keep going in an effort to fight the fates attempt to shit on her life. This effort lasted 5 minutes as the rain was too dangerous to drive in so she took a desperate turn onto a road so that she could sit off the road until the rain stopped. "Stupid fucking rain," she let out and drove down the road deep through a patch of trees. The Highlands were mostly open space but she didn't question this particularly tree heavy area, she was just happy to get off the road. Her dreams of finding a place to park were dashed as she reached an old abandoned house. More like a mansion. Lia looked up at the house and cringed…this was too much of a setup for it not to be dangerous. But she was freezing and in the middle of nowhere so she got out of the car and ran into the building. She jumped as the doors closed with a loud bang.

The inside was deteriorating and dust clung to every service. The main chandelier was creaking as it swayed lightly with the breeze. The house was falling apart and Lia didn't want to spend too much time in there. Pulling out her cell phone she attempted to dial her aunt to tell her where she was. "Of course…no service. I've stepped into a fucking Alfred Hitchcock movie," she shouted and kicked the wall. Rubbing her face with her hands Lia attempted to run through every possible scenario that could happen in the time she spent standing there. Sadly there really wasn't anywhere else to go.

"Who are you?"

Lia jumped and turned to see a teenage boy standing across the room from her. She felt her mouth go dry as her hand went to her pocket where her pepper spray was waiting. The boy began to walk toward her slowly but Lia stood her ground, unable to move. "What are you doing here?" he asked another question, adjusting his circle rimmed glasses.

"I…I could ask you the same question."

"Are you lost?"

"What's it to you?"

"You really shouldn't be in here…"

"Why are YOU in here then?" her voice rose as her fear began to take control. The boy stopped walking towards her and crossed his arms against his chest. "Where are we right now?" he asked simply. Lia looked around the dirty room and then back to him. "Are you serious? We're in an abandoned house off the main road. Unless you're blind you can tell the same," she sassed him and kept her hand over her pocket. The expression on the boy changed as he realized what was happening. Lia looked him up and down to drink him in. His was wearing something similar to a prep school uniform and his right hand held two books. The glasses perched on his nose were circular.

"How can you see me?" Lia's eyebrows furrowed as she stared at him. "I should go," the boy said suddenly and turned to leave. Lia shook her head as the stranger began to walk away through a door. "No! Please! I don't understand what's going on…who are you? I just need to find a place I can stay for the night that's nearby," she crossed the distance of the room to stand in front of him before he could leave. He searched her face for a moment before meeting her eyes. If the situation were different Lia might have actually found him to be attractive…but she was just afraid of who he could be. "Please," she whispered. "I can't help you…I'm sorry." Lia watched him walk around her before she got the nerve to grab his arm. A flash of light engulfed them both and the last thing Lia could feel was the boy catching her fall.


	2. Chapter 2

It felt like a jolt of electricity had been surged through her body. A loud gasp left her as she sat up and her breathing became irregular. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light flooding in from the large windows and the pain in her head. Her hand went to the tender spot on her temple, her eyes closing shut. She was so flustered she didn't even notice the man sitting at the end of her bed, watching her intently. Lia opened her eyes to examine her surroundings and nearly fell off the bed as she noticed the older man.

"Who are you!?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been dropped on my head!"

"Sorry to admit it but you were."

"That little tosser dropped me?!"

The older man gave her an amused grin and Lia felt herself relaxing around him. But the tension in her shoulders returned as she remembered that she had no idea where she was.

"Where am I?" she asked suddenly.

"You are at Hogwarts."

Lia stared at him for a moment to rack her brain of every place she knew in the UK. Hogwarts wasn't anywhere near Dufftown and she knew this area of Scotland too well to be wrong. Was this some kind of sick joke?

"I've never heard of Hogwarts. Where are we really?" Lia's tone was beginning to turn hostile.

"This place doesn't really exist, you see. It is hidden to those who are not meant to find it but it seems as if this is exactly where you're supposed to be."

A moment of silence fell between them as Lia analyzed his words. She wished his voice and general nature weren't so kind because he was fooling her pretty well. Her gaze traveled around the room to see rows of beds against the walls, stands with blue curtains dividing each bed. It seemed like a health center or a room in a hospital. Except the fact that the architecture of the room was almost like a cathedral with the arched ceilings and the old fashioned black, metal chandelier. She finally came to the conclusion that she was in his lair of some sort. The old man took girls and told them that they were special enough to get into. Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears as she realized she was going to die.

"Look, if I've been kidnapped I'd rather you just tell me or kill me. But spare me the cryptic speeches."

"Rest assured… you have not been kidnapped. This is a school for very gifted boys and girls. The students who go here have the power of magic on their side."

Lia gave him a blank stare, her mouth agape. He was a nutcase who had definitely kidnapped her and now the only thing going through her head was how to escape.

"I can tell that you highly doubt I am telling anything but a lie. Let me show you," the man got up from his seat with grace and removed one of the rings on his fingers. Placing it on the table he removed his wand from the pocket in his cloak and recited, "Geminio." The ring was duplicated in less than a second into an exact copy. A sound of astonishment and fear left her mouth once the two rings sat there next to each other. Her eyes went to the wand in the man's hand; it looked like it was an extension of who he was. It wasn't a foreign object like it was to her. The man handed Lia the duplicate ring to hold for herself. Lia had no words as she examined the ring only to see the details and weight were that of a real ring. This was insanity…she needed to get out.

"That was an amazing magic trick. Thanks for the show," she told him slowly, her eyes never leaving the ring. Swinging her legs off the bed Lia stood on wobbly legs. Slipping on her boots Lia stood up straight and placed the ring on the side table. "It was really nice to meet you and thank you for the hospitality but I must be going. I'm sure I'm already hours behind my schedule." Lia took her coat from the coat rack and held it in her hands. She walked around him and towards the large doors leading out to god knows where.

"It's been days Lia since you fainted," the voice of the old man came from the back of the room. She stopped in her tracks but didn't turn around.

"That's impossible; I literally collapsed maybe 2 hours ago…tops."

"I'm sorry dear girl but time has flown by. The amount of energy it took for you to cross between the wards of your world and ours knocked you unconsciousness for four days."

Lia's breath caught in her throat and she felt bile rising in her stomach.

"I really should be going," she whispered, afraid but determined to just forget any of this happened.

"You are the person we've been waiting for. You are the key, Lia. It's time."

"Time for what?" she turned her shoulders to look at him finally.

"There is only one person who can defeat the evil that torments this world but you are they key that will complete this."

"You are batshit crazy! I'm not the key to anything, alright?"

"There are people who need you."

"Like who?!" she screamed at him. "No one needs to my help! There's only one person in this world I care about and she doesn't even need me. So stop trying to get into my head because it will not work."

Lia turned away from to open the large wooden doors only to reveal bustling hallways filled with students. They didn't stop to notice her in the doorway of the infirmary but she saw them all. Lia took a step back as the crowded hallway was too much for her to handle. He wasn't lying…this really was a school. Turning around to face the old man Lia only have one question to ask.

"Who are you?"

"Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The overwhelming feeling finally took its toll as she felt herself fainting yet again but this time a pair of arms actually caught her.


	3. Chapter 3

"You really should stop fainting."

The sound of an amused voice pushed Lia out of the darkness, her eyes opening slowly. Blinking away the blurriness of sleep Lia sat up only to find the same boy from the abandoned house.

"You're the bloke that dropped me," she pointed a finger at him but the other teen didn't flinch.

"I caught you this time. You should be thanking me for coming in when I did."

"Who are you anyway?"

"Harry Potter. You're Cordelia Moore according to your driving license."

"You were going through my stuff?" Lia snatched her wallet from him before he could read anything else. "And it's Lia. Prat," she mumbled and lay back on the bed. "Where's Albus?"

"Professor Dumbledore left rather quickly. He said for you to find him in his office once you feel better. He also said something about the fates…I didn't understand it. That's the most he's said in days to me..." his tone was dull with dissatisfaction.

"He's wacky if you ask me."

"Maybe but he's brilliant. It would do you well to get on his good side if you decide to stay."

"I highly doubt I'll be staying but thanks for the advice," Lia retorted as sarcasm dripped off her voice.

"Sometimes I wish I had that choice…Do you believe what he told you?"

Lia watched him as he stared down at his hands. "I don't know if I do. Should I?" Harry looked up at her, his eyes a brilliant green, as a small smirk gracing his face. He stood up and took the wand from his pocket, flicking it in the air. "Wingardium leviosa" and the sheets over her body were lifted into the air and floating away from her at his command. Lia bought thighs up against her chest and admired the magic in front of her. "It's amazing."

Harry turned his gaze towards her and let the blanket fall to the end of her bed. "The more you see the more you'll want to stay." It was a warning Lia knew she needed to heed. Of course she was convinced this was all a dream so what was the point anyway? Lia rubbed her temples as the boy sat down once again. She looked up at him as he placed his hand on the bed side table. The words 'I must not tell lies' etched into his skin wasn't hard to miss and she instinctually took his hand in her own. She was used to caring for others that she often forgot what was happening to herself.

"What kind of place is this?" she asked him, her thumb rubbing over the red skin.

"It's nothing," Harry snatched his hand angrily and covered it with his other hand.

"Who did that to you?" she demanded, genuinely concerned for his wellbeing.

Harry was taken aback and paused, his eyes on hers. "Technically I did it to myself…"

"What-"

Lia was interrupted by the doors of the infirmary bursting open to reveal a plump, short woman wearing nothing but shades of pink. She had a cocky smirk on her face as she walked over to the bed table. Lia watched Harry visibly tense up under the scrutinizing glare of the older woman.

"I am Dolores Umbridge, Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher here at Hogwarts. I am pleased to meet you. You see this is very rare for a muggle to make their way into Hogwarts. You are a conundrum of sorts."

"Her name is Lia and Dumbledore will be helping her," Harry told her matter-of-factly. Lia had no words as she stared Umbridge, her eyebrow raised in suspicion. "I don't know what is happening," she murmured to Harry.

"Do not speak out of turn, boy. I will not hesitate giving you detention for the second time this week!"

Harry remained silent but Lia could see that his fists were clenched at his sides.

"I must ask that you follow me to my office in an effort to clear up this situation to the best of our ability. As an employee of the Ministry of Magic is it my duty to sort out the inconsistencies of Hogwarts and this needs handling right away."

"Do I have any say in this?"

"I'm afraid not. If you would follow me," she gestured towards the door but Lia stayed where she was.

"I'm not a part of your world nor do I have to follow your rules. I would also appreciate it if you could give me some respect," Lia raised her head in confidence.

Umbridge giggled and shook her head. "Now that you're here you _are_ under my rules. I do not wish to use force but I will if you do not come willingly."

"You can't do that! Dumbledore would never allow it!" Harry stood up to face the professor. "You're not at the Ministry Umbridge, you have no power here."

It was like an instinct for her as Umbridge lifted her wand in front of Harry's face. Lia gasped as Harry for the first time that day showed a glimpse of fear. "Stop it!" Lia commanded which seemed to break Umbridge's daze.

Her giggle filled the room as she lowered her wand. "Mr. Potter…detention tomorrow evening for your blatant rudeness ," Umbridge said in a sing-song voice. "Lia, we will be seeing each other shortly." With that Umbridge turned on her heel to leave the room.

Lia's eyes were wide with fear of what Umbridge would have done to her if Harry hadn't stood up for her. "Thanks," she whispered as he looked down at her. "What is she going to do to you?" Harry ran a hand through his hair, peeing his gaze away from Lia's.

"It doesn't matter. I don't think I need to tell you to avoid her at all costs. We should go see Dumbledore before any more trouble finds you."

She could only imagine going to school with a lady like that walking around. Umbridge was only another reason for her to leave Hogwarts for good.

Harry offered Lia his scarred hand for support and she took it begrudgingly. With everything that had happened to her body she still felt weak. His hand was soft in hers and she immediately felt a jolt run through her body. This wasn't just a feeling inside of her as his eyes widened with shock. "Probably static," she told him and stood up slowly, slipping her hand out of his. She moved around him and took her jacket from the back of his chair. He stood there for a moment longer, watching her walk away from him. Harry felt like he was able to relax for even a few moments around someone who had no idea who he was or how important he was. It was refreshing. But a feeling of suspicion washed over him as he suddenly felt that she wasn't trustworthy. It was odd because no more than 2 minutes ago he was beginning to like her. This had been happening a lot to Harry lately as it felt like there were two people inside of him running his mind. He was beginning to grow weary.

Lia felt his eyes on her and turned towards him, grinning. "You're supposed to be leading the way." Harry rolled his neck, shaking off the disturbing feeling inside of him, and walked toward her. Placing his hand on her back Harry led her into the hallway.


End file.
